Biosynthesis and immunogenicity of glucosylceramide in Cryptococcus neoformans and other human pathogens.

Lack of Cryptococcus gattii from Eucalyptus in Ahvaz

The basidiomycetous yeast genus Cryptococcus contains two medically important pathogens, Cryptococcus neoformans and C. gattii [1-3]. C. neoformans is one of the common pathogens in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), whereas the most cases of diseases due to C. gattii happened in the healthy individuals [2, 4]. C. gattii has a tendency to affect the respiratory and nervous systems of th...

Human antibodies against a purified glucosylceramide from Cryptococcus neoformans inhibit cell budding and fungal growth.

A major ceramide monohexoside (CMH) was purified from lipidic extracts of Cryptococcus neoformans. This molecule was analyzed by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, and fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry. The cryptococcal CMH is a beta-glucosylceramide, with the carbohydrate residue attached to 9-methyl-4,8-sphingadienine i...

Characterization of monoclonal antibody MEST-2 specific to glucosylceramide of fungi and plants.

An IgG2a monoclonal antibody anti-glucosylceramide was established and termed MEST-2. High performance thin layer chromatography immunostaining, and solid-phase radioimmunoassay showed that MEST-2 reacts with glucosylceramide from yeast and mycelium forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Sporothrix schenckii; from hyphae of Aspergillus fumigatus; and from yeast form...

Monoclonal antibody to fungal glucosylceramide protects mice against lethal Cryptococcus neoformans infection.

Glucosylceramides (GlcCer) are involved in the regulation of Cryptococcus neoformans virulence. In the present study, we demonstrate that passive immunization with a monoclonal antibody to GlcCer significantly reduces host inflammation and prolongs the survival of mice lethally infected with C. neoformans, revealing a potential therapeutic strategy to control cryptococcosis.

TO : Glucosylceramide synthase is an essential regulator of pathogenicity of Cryptococcus neoformans